ASEF Creative Networks Second Edition (2014-15)

ASEF Creative Networks encourages collaborations among networks in order to reinforce the dialogue between cultural professionals from Asia and Europe. Through this programme, ASEF seeks to strengthen its role as a connector between cultural networks of the two regions over the past 15 years. The programme draws from the positive experiences gained through the successful work of the Creative Encounters: Cultural Partnerships Between Asia and Europe and will be based on a similar selection and funding model.

Eligible candidates for this programme include representatives of existing and/or emerging cultural/artistic networks, at national, regional, sub-regional or bi-regional levels. Proposals will be selected according to their relevance in the framework of ASEF’s mission, the financial commitment of involved partners, and ability to raise ASEF’s visibility within the cultural sector. The implementation of new bi-regional networks and the expansion of Asian/European networks to the other region will be particularly encouraged. Selected partners will receive partial financial contributions from ASEF.

ASEF intends to develop ASEF Creative Networks as a long-term programme to promote sustainable connections among the cultural communities of Asia and Europe, and by notably by supporting collaborative projects and activities.

Project Updates

Selected through ASEF Creative Networks 2nd edition, Culture and Creative Hub Net is a new network of Cultural and Creative Hubs managers between Asia and Europe. The project aims to identify, engage and understand the needs of creative and cultural hubs as well as to provide the necessary conditions for long-term network sustainability.

The kick-start meeting of the network is organised in Brussels, Belgium on 25 November 2015. The meeting will bring together 14 representatives of Cultural and Creative Hub Managers from Asia and Europe to network and discuss opportunities to develop a long-term collaboration between hub managers from both regions.

The Asia Pacific Screen Laboratory (APSL) is a one-year film co-production training laboratory for emerging filmmakers. The APSL aims to match emerging filmmakers with award-winning mentors from Asia and Europe, to develop a script and pitch for funds to create a cross-cultural feature film that draws from the cinematic traditions of both regions. The initiative will build long-term connections among young filmmakers and more established mentors and producers to tell stories that showcase the connections between Asia and Europe.

In 2015, out of 30 submissions from 14 countries in the ASEM region, 2 film projects have been selected for this year-long training. On 26 November 2015, the APSL will present the results of the collaboration during the Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Brisbane, Australia. The mentors and selected filmmakers for the 3rd edition in 2016 will also be announced.

The APSL is one of the 6 selected projects of ASEF Creative Networks (2nd Edition). Project partners include Griffith Film School (Australia), NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema), Ateliers du Cinéma Européen (France), Mediterranean Film Institute (Greece), Australian Directors Guild (Australia), Torino Film Lab (Italy) and Asia Pacific Screen Academy (Australia).

In the 2nd phase of Curating Batik, supported by ASEF Creative Networks, two batik experts are taking up residencies at Weltmuseum Wien (Austria) and Museum der Kulturen Basel (Switzerland) from 31 August – 20 September 2015.

Benny Gratha (Museum Tekstil Jakarta), Dr. Kwan Hwie Liong (independent curator) and Dr. Jani Kuhnt-Saptodewo have been recently researching textile collection at Weltmuseum Wien, with particular focus on batik. Weltmuseum Wien is home to an extraordinary collection of Asian textiles from the 19th to the early 20th century, which includes fascinating Indonesian batik samples. Due to the lack of knowledge about their origins, production and colouring, many of them have never been exhibited.

It is this gap that the Curating Batik initiative is addressing. Curating Batik involves the study of batik collections in selected museums in Asia and Europe, towards the setup of a permanent gallery at the Weltmuseum in Vienna which is currently undergoing extensive renovation and will reopen in 2017.

In addition, the two Indonesian experts will also spend a week in Basel. With Dr Richard KUNZ, they will examine spectacular and peculiar batik textiles in the collection of Museum der Kulturen Basel.

The two experts presented the results of the research and gave public lectures on 9 September 2015 at Weltmuseum Vienna and will do so on 17 September 2015 at Museum der Kulturen Basel.

In August and September 2015, Mr Benny GRAHA, Assistant Curator, Museum Tekstil Jakarta and Mr KWAN Hwie Liong, independent Indonesian curator will travel to Basel, Prague and Vienna to analyse batik collections in the above-mentioned museums to fill the gaps in relation to their origin, production and techniques used. This study will be undertaken along with European curators Ms Dagmar Pospíšilová, Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures, Ms Jani Kuhnt-Saptodewo, Weltmuseum Wien and Mr Richard KUNZ, Museum der Kulturen Basel. There will be two workshops at Weltmuseum Wien on 9 September and at Museum der Kulturen Basel on 17 September.

Batik, a technique of a wax-resisting dying applied to cloth, has a long tradition in South and Southeast Asia. On October 2009, UNESCO, the UN’s agency for culture, designated Indonesian batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. During colonial times, the technique travelled to Europe and excellent samples of batik are to be found in museums collections in Europe. However, many of these artefacts have spent many years in storage and have never been exhibited before. Curating Batik, a collaborative initiative among member museums of the Asia-Europe Museum Network (ASEMUS), aims to bring together Asian and European curators to study some such batik collections towards the setup ofthe permanent batik collection at Weltmuseum Wien, which is due to open in late 2017.

The session follows the four day THRIVE workshop which brings together leaders of 16 culture networks from Asia and Europe in Singapore to share experiences and discuss ways to improve the operations and impact of networks. The workshop is aimed at developing the leadership skills and relationships that are required to sustain networks and enable them to thrive.

A group of cultural leaders from Asia and Europe will meet 28-31 August 2015 at LaSalle College of the Arts in Singapore.

The THRIVE Networking Culture Leaders meeting will addressthe leadership and effectiveness of international culture networks, which play an important role in cultural cooperation.

The project has two key components – a workshop in Singapore and a research report. The 4-day workshop in Singapore will bring together cultural leaders like Sarah GARDNER, Executive Director of IFFACA, Carla DELFOS, Executive Director of the European League of Institute of the Arts, Shahidul ALAM, Managing Director, Drik, and Anna STEINKAMP, Coordinator, U40 Group to identify the current challenges of leadership in cultural networks in Asia and Europe.

The topics to be discussed include good practices in governance and leadership, funding sources, alliance building and future relevance of cultural networks.

“We were excited to share the passion on our Batik collection in Indonesia. At the same time, we felt very nervous because Batik is an integral part of Indonesia’s cultural heritage and people’s everyday life.” This was the shared impression museum curators and Batik experts had at the Curating Batik workshop, organised at Museum Tekstil Jakarta in Indonesia on 3 June 2015 and attended by more than 50 Batik experts and Batik lovers.

In line with the recommendations of Asian and European Culture Ministers (in the framework of the Asia-Europe Meeting/ASEM) reinforced at the last 6th ASEM Culture Ministers Meeting (Netherlands, October 2014), ASEF continue to work with the cultural sector and other partner organisations to promote mobility of artists and cultural professionals in Asia and Europe. This year, ASEF will support the first meeting of the SEAAA Mobility Platform which will launch a new alliance of funding and re-granting organisations to support mobility of artists and cultural professionals with a focus on South Europe, Asia and Australia.

The launching seminar of mobility funders, potential funders and re-granting organisations from Southern Europe, Asia and Australia will be held from 30th to 31st March 2015 at Theatre 104 in Athens, Greece. Mr Ferdinand Richard, Chair of the Roberto Cimetta Fund will give an introduction about the project. Ms Valentina RICCARDI, Project Manager of ASEF’s Culture Department, will deliver a presentation about ASEF’s recent activities in the field of cultural mobility between Asia and Europe.

The meeting will allow discussion on mobility needs and funding schemes existing in each of our regions and will enable participants to define the SEAAA mobility fund more precisely through agreement on common ethics and rules of implementation that could pave the way for possible reciprocal funding of mobility.

Among others, there will be representatives from Kelola Foundation (Indonesia), India Foundation for the Arts, India for Transformation/Be ARtsy Foundation, Vasl Pakistan, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Philippines

On 30-31 March in Athens, Greece, ASEF will support and participate in the first meeting of the SEAAA Platform for artistic and cultural mobility with a focus on South Europe, Asia and Australia. The SEAAA Mobility Platform will launch a new Alliance of funding and re-granting organisations to support mobility of artists and cultural professionals.

The project aims to respond to artistic, directional and geographic imbalances by establishing a network of mobility funders from ASEM countries to fund different artistic and cultural mobility routes within the Euro-Asia region. The initiative also aims to support the mobility and creative projects of individual artists and cultural operators in ASEM countries by running an open call, evaluating applications, selecting beneficiaries, reimbursing travel expenses and collecting reports.

Project partners include Roberto Cimetta Fund (France), Korea Arts Management Service (Korea) and Australia Council for the Arts (Australia). The project has been selected through the 2nd edition of ASEF Creative Networks.

Six projects from a pool of 39 proposals have been selected for support in 2015, through the second edition of ASEF Creative Networks:

1) Connect Your Future(s) is a mapping of online cultural platforms and a conference on cultural mobility, creative industries and digitized heritage. The project aims to map existing online information platforms related to cultural mobility, creative industries and digitised heritage as a basis to connect these platforms and avoid duplication of existing initiatives in Asia and Europe. The project also aims to encourage exchange of good practices, to foster individual learning through peer-to-peer sessions and to impulse the emergence of cooperation projects helping to connect Asia and Europe. Project partners include Agence Luxembourgeoise d’Action Culturelle (Luxembourg), Planting Rice (Philippines) andOn the Move (Belgium).

2) Culture and Creative Hub Net is a new network of Cultural and Creative Hubs between Asia and Europe. The project aims to identify, engage and understand the needs of creative and cultural hubs as well as to provide the necessary conditions for long-term network sustainability. Project partners includeADDICT – Creative Industries Agency Portugal (Portugal), ECBN – European Creative Business Network (The Netherlands) andCI-USJ – Faculty of Creative Industries, University of Saint Joseph (China)

3) Curating Batik is a series of workshops to develop marketing and brand strategies on batik collections between museum experts in Asia and Europe presented in the framework of the Asia-Europe Museum Network (ASEMUS).The project aims to deepen analysis of Batik collections of the Weltmuseum Wien and the Naprstek museum and to exchange of marketing and branding strategies between Weltmuseum Wien and Museum Teksil Jakarta. The research and workshop is an important part of the preparation for their upcoming exhibition on batik which will open in 2017. Project partners include the ASEMUS members Weltmuseum Wien (Austria), Museum Tekstil Jakarta (Indonesia) and Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures (Czech Republic)

4) SEAAA Mobility Platform is a network of mobility funders that supports individual grants in Asia and Europe. The project aims to respond to artistic, directional and geographic imbalances, by establishing a network of mobility funders from ASEM countries to fund different artistic and cultural mobility routes within the Euro-Asia region. It also aims to support the mobility and creative projects of individual beneficiary artists and cultural operators in ASEM countries by running an open call, evaluating the applications, selecting the beneficiaries, reimbursing travel expenses and collecting reports. Project partners include Roberto Cimetta Fund (France), Korea Arts Management Service (Republic of Korea) and Australia Council for the Arts (Australia)

5) The Asia Pacific Screen Lab @ GFS is a one-year film co-production training laboratory for emerging filmmakers from the Asia Pacific region. The project will take place at the Griffith Film School in Brisbane (Australia). It aims to match emerging filmmakers with award winning mentors from Asia and Europe, to collaborate and develop script and pitch documents for a cross-cultural feature film that draws from the filmic traditions of both regions. It also looks at creating an ongoing one-on-one mentorship and collaborative training vehicle and network to train emerging filmmakers, to tell stories that showcase the connections between Asia and Europe.

6) THRIVE Networking Culture Leaders is a capacity building workshop to help enhance the leadership and effectiveness of international culture networks. The project aims to document and share information about good practices in strategic planning for culture networks with a view to improving practices, inspiring network leaders, and providing resources for networks in Asia and Europe. It also aims to support networks to develop, diversify and build their advocacy activities and potential partners. Project partners include the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies - IFACCA (Australia), Arts Network Asia (Singapore) and the European League of Institute of the Arts (The Netherlands).

Eight network proposals have been shortlisted from 39 submissions for the 2nd edition of the ASEF Creative Networks project initiative by the Asia-Europe Foundation. (see pdf document for the list of 8 shortlisted projects)

The shortlisted applicants are requested to submit a detailed proposal on or before Monday, 1 December 2014. Successful applicants will be notified by January 2015.

ASEF announces the launch of its 2nd open call for proposals through ‘ASEF Creative Networks’,an initiative that recognises cultural networks as an important mechanism to encourage bi-regional collaborations and reinforce cooperation in the cultural field.

Through this initiative, ASEF seeks to strengthen its role as a connector between cultural networks in Asia and Europe.

ASEFwelcomes proposals from Asian and European cultural networks for activities such as capacity building workshops, mapping of good practices, expansion of Asian or European networks to the other region, among others. Proposed projects should take place between 1 April and 30 November 2015.

Multilateral projects that engage as many partners and participants as possible from the 49 ASEM member countries and which favour effective, long-term cooperation are particularly encouraged.